I do a small daycare out of my home and was having this discussion with a mom. Do you think cloth diapered babies potty learn quicker than children who are in sposies? I use cloth diapers on my dd and she uses sposies on hers. I used sposies on my ds and he was 3 1/2 when he finally decided to learn to use the potty.

In my opinion they do. I believe that if they are in cloth, and changed right when they wet, they never lose that connection with themselves of knowing that when they pee it gets wet and it's not okay to sit in a wet diaper. They feel it, and don't learn to ignore it.

Of course, that is only my opinion based on my own experience. I feel the same way about night changing... if you change them when they wet at night, they are (in my opinion) less likely to wet the bed as toddlers and children.

In my opinion, they don't.
My first child potty learned at 24 months. That was good.
My second didn't start using the toilet till she was 3.
My third is going to be 3 in March, and could not care less about the toilet.
My fourth is 7 months, so the jury is still out on that one LOL

If that were true, I think the majority of CDed kids would be potty learning earlier than most of the disposable diapered kids. That's not the reality of what I've heard from moms of CDed kids and it's not the reality of my experience, either. I don't remember when my son was totally day trained, but I have pictures of him at 3 running around the house in a prefold and a wrap, so it wasn't before then. He would poop in the potty, but not pee at first. My daughter was almost 4 before she was day trained. She would pee in the potty, but not go poop. Every kid is so different.

I think it is hard to know because right now there is only small antedoctal evidence (ie-my son pottied at 2.75 yo). I think you would have to ask about 100 sposie users vs 100 cloth users to have a scientific study. And then take the average.

I have also heard alot of sposie users whose kids didn't potty learn until 4. So this would certainly skew that average to older. But then I just found out a friends dd just potty learned at 24 mo (also a sposie user)!

Another aside, I have wondered because it seems my mom's generation (that predominantly used cloth) are shocked that 3 year olds are not potty trained. I don't know if it is because kids in my generation did just potty learn earlier as a result of cloth or if it is because it was pushed much earlier.

The one thing I know for sure is that there certainly a lot less sposies consumed by us cloth diaperers which is the best thing I think
:LOL

Originally posted by chaos_pieAnother aside, I have wondered because it seems my mom's generation (that predominantly used cloth) are shocked that 3 year olds are not potty trained. I don't know if it is because kids in my generation did just potty learn earlier as a result of cloth or if it is because it was pushed much earlier.

From the comments I've heard from my mom's generation, it was common to push children to potty train at an earlier age. The methods were sometimes cruel back in those days, involving spanking and humiliation. That is why there is such a backlash against pushing kids to potty learn when they aren't ready, today.

My son, who was cloth diapered at home, but sposied in daycare, started taking his diaper off at a year old after he peed. Then, at a year and a half, he started going into the restroom and taking his diaper off, then peeing on the floor. He started making it into the potty almost every time when he was 2.

My daughter is 13 months and takes her diaper off to poop, and takes it off after a pee.

I don't reward or punish them or have anything to do with their decision, other than trying to keep them dry and comfortable, and letting them see us using the potty, etc.

My nephew who was sposied, and changed maybe twice a day when the diaper was so heavy it couldn't stay on, is 5 and still not potty trained.

I would say no. My first dd was clth diapered and learned to used the potty just around age 3, a little after even. She still has accidents at 3 1/2. My second dd, also cloth diapered, is starting to use the potty at age 2. It just seems like its up to the kid not the diaper.

In my opinion, they don't.
My first child potty learned at 24 months. That was good.
My second didn't start using the toilet till she was 3.
My third is going to be 3 in March, and could not care less about the toilet.
My fourth is 7 months, so the jury is still out on that one LOL

well, i think it mostly depends on the kids but also mom's reaction to it.

my ds is 2.75 years old now and has just started to use the potty most of the day. he was a sposie baby but has been cloth diapered off and on since he was 17 months. i admit, i didn't change him nearly as often as i should have until i saw the light. if i ignore it though, he would rather just use a diaper instead of the potty. i think if i left it completely up to him, he would probably be more like 4 before training.

my neice is just over 2 and wants to learn the potty and she was also a sposie baby.

a friend of mine has a daughter that was day trained just before she turned 2. she was also a sposie baby but her mom changes the diapers after every pee (i would think she would want to use cloth but oh well). at 17 months she would have her daughter sit on the potty every hour until the connection clicked.

i think it is entirely possible to train earlier than most kids do nowadays if you are willing to immediately change any wet diapers right away, and introduce a potty very early.

to potty train (wet = yucky) that's for sure, but as far as making kids 'learn' faster, I doubt that. I also agree that when kids where cloth diapers, they're more aware of what's going on down there.

However, I figure the reason kids used to potty train earlier was b/c parents began potty training them earlier. The notion of 'wait until your child can verbally tell you s/he has to go' or 'wait until your child can physically pull up/down his/her pants' is a new concept. 30 years ago, kids potty trained earlier b/c parents introduced the potty earlier. And 30 years before that, kids potty trained even earlier b/c their parents introduced the potty earlier.

As you've probably guessed, I'm an advocate of infant potty training. Most ppl are skeptical, even my 'crunchy' friends, but it's gone swimmingly for us. We started with DD#1 at 13 months, she was dry through the day at 19 months. I started with DD#2 at 2 wks, she was napping diaperless at 4 months, and for a patch, we had days where we'd use one diaper, b/c we went out. Of course, we have had lots of accidents, but those are usually b/c I'm being inattentive.

We're having a rough patch now b/c she just became mobile (11 months, crawling, furniture walking, climbing up stairs), and she's lost interest. I'll get 2-3 pees from her a day, but it's a struggle, and I don't force her. It's been a neat learning experience though, I was quite skeptical when I tried it with DD#2 so young, and to see her progress was a great incentive to keep it up.

Well, yes and no... I would say that CDing makes your child more aware of what "wet" is & how to avoid it especially now that disposies are so dry...

It's funny that all three of my kiddos trained around age 3 (breaks down the theory of girls training quicker than boys at least at our house!) I will say that my DD (once she decided she WANTED to potty learn) trained herself in about 3 days & she has had one night accident & only had day accidents when she was sick & could not make it to the potty on time.

My boys took longer to night train but a friend who is a urologist said that is normal for their "plumbing situation" as he put it. He did tell me that if they got to be over age 5 and still had accidents to let him know but not before then!

My mom said that everyone just potty trained their children earlier back in the days when I was a baby (early 60's) - I was potty trained by a little over 12 months old. Apparently it was quite a big deal then.

Originally posted by chaos_pieMan...I wish I knew the answer to this one.

Another aside, I have wondered because it seems my mom's generation (that predominantly used cloth) are shocked that 3 year olds are not potty trained. I don't know if it is because kids in my generation did just potty learn earlier as a result of cloth or if it is because it was pushed much earlier.

:LOL

My gma swears that my mom and I were both pt at 18 mo. She seems to think that this is the norm and was scandalized when I told her that most modern baby book advise not to even think about pt before 24 mo.

Simone, when I was working I had a coworker who swore up and down that her boys were both potty trained by their first birthday and I was a horrible mother because my ds wasn't/isn't pt. :

I've not had a huge amount of experience on this, as dd was a sposie baby, but I think that it's the child who is the factor, not diapers. My ds is 2 1/2 and is in the early stages of pt'ing. By his age dd was in panties day and night. I think with ds it is more a matter of maturity, not the "ickiness" of feeling wet.

I can see the idea behind the theory of cd'ing and potty training, though.

Homesteading Mama to homeschoolin' kiddos London (10) ; Alexander (8) :; Holden (5) :; and Sergei born at home 8/18/08